Production Begins on The Hundred-Foot Journey, Starring Helen Mirren

Production has begun in southwest France on The Hundred-Foot Journey, based on the best-selling novel by Richard C. Morais. Starring Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren, and directed by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström, the film will be released on August 8, 2014 in the U.S.

In The Hundred-Foot Journey, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant  the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own escalate to all out war between the two establishments  until Hassans passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallorys enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory’s culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan’s gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.

The Hundred-Foot Journey features a script by Steven Knight and is based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais. The movies producers are Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake. The film’s executive producers are Caroline Hewitt and Carla Gardini. Raphael Benoliel is co-producer.

The filmmakers of The Hundred-Foot Journey also include production designer David Gropman (August: Osage County, Life of Pi), costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud (Cloud Atlas, Albert Nobbs) director of photography Linus Sandgren (American Hustle, Promised Land) and editor Andrew Mondshein (Safe Haven, The Odd Life of Timothy Green).

DreamWorks Studios is producing, with Participant Media co-financing. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling foreign sales to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, DreamWorks’ partner Reliance will distribute in India, with Disney handling the remaining international territories. Disney will distribute the film theatrically in the U.S.